Toyota Camry
The Toyota Camry MOT pass rate for cars first registered 2016–2021 is 93.4% across 3,792 official UK DVSA tests. Tyres — worn close to the limit or feathered on the edge — account for 743 MOT defect notes on UK Toyota Camry cars in the 2016–2021 registration band, dwarfing every other fault type in the log. Yet the same fleet still returns a 93.4% pass rate over 3,792 official DVSA tests, which tells you where attention belongs at viewing time: rubber, lights, and basic upkeep rather than recurring mechanical design flaws.
Unlike a registration check, this report analyses how thousands of similar Toyota Camry models have performed at MOT over time — not just one vehicle.
- 93.4%
- MOT pass rateshare of recorded tests that passed
- 4k
- MOT tests analysed3,792 official DVSA records
- 2k
- defect notes recorded2,137 · advisory to dangerous
- 2016–21
- registration yearssnapshot 26 September 2026
A fleet outcome for Toyota Camry models registered 2016–2021 — not a reliability score, and not a verdict on one car. Always check the specific vehicle.
Key findings
What the MOT record says about the Toyota Camry
- The Toyota Camry posts a 93.4% MOT pass rate across 3,792 DVSA tests for cars first registered between 2016 and 2021.
- Of 2,137 recorded defect notes, 1,652 (77%) are classified as owner maintenance, 153 as wear-related ageing, and just 24 as systemic.
- Tyres worn close to the legal limit or worn on the edge is the single most recorded fault at 743 mentions — far ahead of headlamp aim too low at 27.
- Systemic defects are rare: the three most frequent items are a cracked registration plate (2), an inoperative engine management warning lamp (2), and excessive play in the lower steering column universal joint (1).
- Owner-maintenance defect notes include 90 classified as Dangerous, 130 as Major, and 1,343 as Advisory — with tyre condition the dominant theme throughout.
Failure breakdown
How Toyota Camry MOT failures break down
Share of recorded defect notes by category in this age band — not MOT tests and not number of vehicles.
- 77.3%Owner maintenance1,652 notes
- 7.2%Wear & tear153 notes
- 1.1%Systemic24 notes
- 14.4%Other308 notes
Advisory
1,679
79% of notes
Minor
187
9% of notes
Major
180
8% of notes
Dangerous
91
4% of notes
Most common owner-maintenance faults
DVSA wording grouped as owner maintenance for this model and age band.
- 1
Tyre worn close to legal limit/worn on edge
743 notes5.2.3 (e)What it means, why it happens, what to check
What it means
- Tread is close to (or at) the legal minimum, or wear is concentrated on an edge. That often points to alignment, pressure or suspension issues as well as simple age.
Why it happens
- Under-inflation, poor alignment, aggressive driving or simply delayed replacement push tread below a safe/legal profile.
Buyer tip
- Measure tread across the full width, check tyre age (DOT date) and look for uneven inner-edge wear.
Severity
- Usually maintenance related
- 2
Headlamp aim too low
27 notes4.1.2 (a)What it means, why it happens, what to check
What it means
- This MOT defect usually indicates incorrect headlamp alignment following adjustment, suspension movement or repair work.
Why it happens
- Aim drifts after suspension work, bumper repairs, bulb changes or simply from road vibration over time.
Buyer tip
- Check beam alignment during inspection and ask whether the lamps were aimed after any recent suspension or bodywork.
Severity
- Usually maintenance related
- 3
Tyre pressure monitoring system malfunctioning or obviously inoperative
14 notes5.2.3 (h)What it means, why it happens, what to check
What it means
- The tyre pressure monitoring system is reporting a fault or is clearly not working, so you may not get a dashboard warning of under-inflation.
Why it happens
- Flat battery sensors after tyre changes, damaged valves or control-module faults are common.
Buyer tip
- Confirm whether sensors need replacing after recent tyre or wheel work, and check pressures manually anyway.
Severity
- Usually maintenance related
- 4
Windscreen washer not working
11 notes3.5 (a)What it means, why it happens, what to check
What it means
- Washer jets are not delivering fluid. Testers need a clear screen; empty reservoirs, blocked jets or failed pumps are common.
Why it happens
- Empty bottles, frozen/blocked jets, split pipes or a failed pump stop fluid reaching the screen.
Buyer tip
- Top up fluid, test the jets on the driveway, and check for cracked bottles or split pipes in the engine bay.
Severity
- Usually maintenance related
- 5
Shock absorbers has light misting of oil
11 notes5.3.2 (b)What it means, why it happens, what to check
What it means
- A damper mounting bush is worn, which can cause knocks, vague handling and accelerated tyre wear.
Why it happens
- Rubber bushes harden and tear with age, road salt and repeated suspension movement.
Buyer tip
- Listen for clunks over speed bumps and have a mechanic check top mounts and lower bushes.
Severity
- Usually maintenance related
- 6
Reversing lamp inoperative
6 notes4.6.1 (a)What it means, why it happens, what to check
What it means
- This wording appears on DVSA MOT records for this model. It flags a tester-observed defect or advisory that can affect safety, legality or a future pass.
Why it happens
- These issues often build up when routine checks are skipped between services — tyres, lamps and washers are typical examples.
Buyer tip
- Ask the seller for invoices covering this item, and have an independent inspector confirm whether it is still present.
Severity
- Usually maintenance related
- 7
Headlamp aim projected beam image is obviously incorrect
4 notes4.1.2 (c)What it means, why it happens, what to check
What it means
- This MOT defect usually indicates incorrect headlamp alignment following adjustment, suspension movement or repair work.
Why it happens
- Aim drifts after suspension work, bumper repairs, bulb changes or simply from road vibration over time.
Buyer tip
- Check beam alignment during inspection and ask whether the lamps were aimed after any recent suspension or bodywork.
Severity
- Usually maintenance related
- 8
fog lamp switch missing
3 notes4.5.3 (a)What it means, why it happens, what to check
What it means
- This wording appears on DVSA MOT records for this model. It flags a tester-observed defect or advisory that can affect safety, legality or a future pass.
Why it happens
- These issues often build up when routine checks are skipped between services — tyres, lamps and washers are typical examples.
Buyer tip
- Ask the seller for invoices covering this item, and have an independent inspector confirm whether it is still present.
Severity
- Usually maintenance related
Most common wear & tear faults
DVSA wording grouped as wear and tear for this model and age band.
No wear-and-tear items in this extract.
Most common systemic faults
DVSA wording grouped as systemic patterns for this model and age band.
- 1
Registration plate deteriorated but not likely to be misread cracked
2 notes0.1 (b)What it means, why it happens, what to check
What it means
- The number plate is cracked, deteriorated or hard to read. Plates must remain legible and securely fitted.
Why it happens
- Age, stone chips, poor replacements or mounts that flex crack or fade plates.
Buyer tip
- Budget for legal replacement plates; check fixing and any bike-rack or tow-bar obstruction.
Severity
- Often a recurring model pattern
- 2
Engine MIL inoperative or indicates a malfunction
2 notes8.2.1.2 (h)What it means, why it happens, what to check
What it means
- The engine management warning lamp is on or not working. Stored faults can affect emissions, drivability and future MOT results.
Why it happens
- Sensors, emissions equipment or wiring faults store codes that illuminate the MIL.
Buyer tip
- Ask for a diagnostic printout and proof that the underlying fault — not just the lamp — was fixed.
Severity
- Often a recurring model pattern
- 3
Lower Steering column universal joint has excessive wear or play
1 notes2.2.2 (c)What it means, why it happens, what to check
What it means
- Play or wear in a steering-column joint can feel like vagueness or a knock through the wheel.
Why it happens
- Intermediate shaft joints wear with mileage and can develop free play.
Buyer tip
- Have a technician check column UJs and intermediate shafts if you feel notchiness.
Severity
- Often a recurring model pattern
Toyota Camry research summary
Carmotiq's Toyota Camry dataset covers 3,792 MOT tests on cars from the 2016–2021 registration era — the 5–10 year age band where make-and-model history is deep enough to draw meaningful comparisons. A 93.4% pass rate is solid, but 2,137 defect notes were still logged across those tests. The split is heavily skewed toward owner maintenance (1,652 notes) over wear-related ageing (153) or systemic issues (24). Tyres alone account for 743 defect entries — worn close to the legal limit or worn on the edge — followed by smaller clusters around headlamp aim, tyre pressure monitoring, windscreen washers, shock absorber oil misting, and reversing lamps. Systemic faults barely register: even the most common design-adjacent items appear once or twice in the entire fleet extract.
For a buyer, that profile points to a mechanically dependable saloon where MOT outcomes hinge mainly on how the previous keeper maintained it. Rising defect volumes from 2022 onwards — owner-maintenance notes climbed from 199 that year to 447 in 2025 — reflect a maturing fleet picking up age-related wear, not a sudden reliability crisis. Walk the tyres carefully, verify lights and washers work, and treat any dashboard warning lamp seriously. None of this replaces checking one registration on GOV.UK or a pre-purchase inspection, but it does tell you what testers most often find when they put a used Toyota Camry on the ramp.
What this report cannot tell you
This report describes model-level MOT trends, not the condition of any individual vehicle.
Two identical Toyota Camry models can have very different maintenance histories.
Use it to understand common patterns before inspecting a specific car — then check that car’s own MOT history.
Year by year
Recent category counts
Defect-note totals by calendar year in the serving extract (not MOT tests, not vehicles, not a prediction).
| Year | Owner maintenance | Wear & tear | Systemic | Other |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 49 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
| 2022 | 199 | 2 | 2 | 34 |
| 2023 | 323 | 17 | 7 | 50 |
| 2024 | 440 | 49 | 8 | 84 |
| 2025 | 447 | 59 | 6 | 97 |
| 2026 | 172 | 26 | 1 | 29 |
All counts are defect notes.
How we classify MOT faults
We group recorded DVSA defect wording into four research categories to help identify whether issues are more likely to reflect routine maintenance, expected wear, recurring model patterns or miscellaneous inspection outcomes.
- Owner maintenance
- Defects often linked to day-to-day upkeep — tyres, lamps, washers and other items a careful owner can usually prevent or fix promptly.
- Wear & tear
- Age- and mileage-related deterioration that accumulates with normal use, even when a car has been looked after.
- Systemic
- Recurring wording and patterns across the model fleet that may point to design, component or known-model tendencies rather than one careless owner.
- Other
- Inspection outcomes that do not sit cleanly in the three groups above, including mixed or less classifiable defect notes.
Dataset: 3,792 official UK DVSA MOT tests · 2,137 defect notes · 2016–2021 registrations · United Kingdom · snapshot 26 September 2026 · aggregated model-level MOT analysis.
Buying a used Toyota Camry: practical MOT checks
- 1Check tread depth on all four tyres, including the inner and outer edges where 743 fleet-wide defect notes flagged wear close to the legal limit.
- 2Switch on headlamps and confirm the beam aim looks correct — headlamp aim faults appear 27 times in the owner-maintenance category.
- 3Look for a TPMS warning light on the dashboard; 14 MOT records flagged a tyre pressure monitoring system that was malfunctioning or inoperative.
- 4Test the windscreen washer, reversing lamps, and look for oil misting on shock absorbers — each appears repeatedly in the defect log for deferred upkeep.
Frequently asked questions
What is the Toyota Camry MOT pass rate for 2016–2021 registrations?
- In Carmotiq's Toyota Camry extract for the 5–10 year registration era, the MOT pass rate is 93.4% across 3,792 recorded DVSA tests.
What is the most common Toyota Camry MOT fault?
- Tyres worn close to the legal limit or worn on the edge is the highest-volume single defect, recorded 743 times. Headlamp aim too low is the next most frequent owner-maintenance item at 27.
Does a high pass rate mean I can skip checking one car myself?
- No. A 93.4% fleet pass rate means most Toyota Camry examples in this age band pass MOT, but 2,137 defect notes were still recorded across those tests — including 90 classified as Dangerous in the owner-maintenance category. This page does not replace a physical inspection or a single-vehicle MOT history lookup on GOV.UK.
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